LED bulb prices in India likely to drop

LED bulb prices in India are likely to come close to CFL prices as government is going to issue 50 million LED bulb purchase tender in coming days. The online LED bulb retail prices in the country range between Rs 160 to Rs 250, while most CFLs are available between Rs 130 to Rs 215.A lot of manufacturers are eyeing to set up manufacturing units for LED lamps.China-based company, Advanced Optronic Devices and India’s Syska LED Lights is planning to jointly invest $75.21 million in a LED manufacturing unit in Telangana.The government ambitious LED lighting initiative run by EESL has made the LED lamp industry scale a peak in just 18 months.EESL acquired LED lamps in bulk through competitive bidding and distributed them to consumers through power distribution companies.Recently, Power minister Piyush Goyal announced that EESL distributed around 30 million LED bulbs under the scheme.Meanwhile, manufacturers do not project CFLs demand disappearing completely in the next three years. There might still be a market for the bulbs in low-tier cities and rural areas, due to lack of awareness.